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Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. The Gospel of Thomas was found among a collection of fifty-two writings that included, in addition to an excerpt from Plato's Republic, gospels claiming to have been written by Jesus' disciple Philip. Scholars have speculated that the works were buried in response to a letter from the bishop Athanasius who for the first time declared a strict canon of Christian scripture.Bound by a method now called Coptic binding, the books (technically called codices) were found in an earthenware jar by a group of peasants who broke open the jar and otherwise subjected the books to careless treatment resulting in significant damage The Coptic language text, the second of seven contained in what modern-day scholars have designated as Codex II, is composed of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus.Modern-day scholars have numbered the sayings and even parts of the sayings, but the text contains no numbering. Almost half of these sayings resemble those found in the Canonical Gospels, while the other sayings were previously unknown. Its place of origin may have been Syria, where Thomasine traditions were strong.Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible by James D. G. Dunn, John William Rogerson, 2003, ISBN 0-8028-3711-5 page 1574 The introduction states: These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down. The Fifth Gospel, Patterson, Robinson, Bethge, 1998 Didymus (Greek) and Thomas (Aramaic) both mean "twin". Some critical scholars suspect that this reference to the Apostle Thomas is false, and that therefore the true author is unknown.April D. DeConick 2006 The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation ISBN 0-567-04382-7 page 2 It is possible that the document originated within a school of early Christians, possibly proto-Gnostics Layton, Bentley, The Gnostic Scriptures, 1987, p.361. Some critics further claim, that even the description of Thomas as a "gnostic" gospel is based upon little other than the fact that it was found along with gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi.Davies, Stevan L., The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom, 1983, p.23-24. The name of Thomas was also attached to the Book of Thomas the Contender, which was also in Nag Hammadi Codex II, and the Acts of Thomas. It is important to note, however, that while the Gospel of Thomas does not directly point to Jesus' divinity, it also does not directly contradict it, and therefore neither supports nor contradicts gnostic beliefs. When asked his identity in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus usually deflects, ambiguously asking the disciples why they do not see what is right in front of them. This is similar to passages in the canonical gospels like John 12:16 and Luke 18:34. The Gospel of Thomas is very different in tone and structure from other New Testament apocrypha and the four Canonical Gospels. Unlike the canonical Gospels, it is not a narrative account of the life of Jesus; instead, it consists of logia (sayings) attributed to Jesus, sometimes stand-alone, sometimes embedded in short dialogues or parables. The text contains a possible allusion to the death of Jesus in logion 65 DeConick, April D., The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 2006, p.214 (Parable of the Wicked Tenants, paralleled in the Synoptic Gospels), but doesn't mention crucifixion, resurrection, or final judgement; nor does it mention a messianic understanding of Jesus.Alister E. McGrath, 2006 Christian Theology ISBN 1-4051-5360-1 page 12James Dunn, John Rogerson 2003 Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible ISBN 0-8028-3711-5 page 1573 Since its discovery, many scholars see it as a proof for the existence of the so-called Q source, which might have been very similar in its form as a collection of sayings of Jesus without any accounts of his deeds or his life and death, a so-called "sayings gospel".Udo Schnelle, 2007 Einleitung in das Neue Testament ISBN 978-3-8252-1830-0 page 230 Eusebius included it among a group of books that he believed to be not only spurious, but "the fictions of heretics".Church History (Book III), Chapter 25:7 and Eusebius Finds and publication The manuscript of the Coptic text, found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, is dated at around 340. It was first published in a photographic edition in 1956.For photocopies of the manuscript see: http://www.gospels.net/thomas/ This was followed three years later (1959) by the first English-language translation, with Coptic transcription.A. Guillaumont, Henri-Charles Puech, Gilles Quispel, Walter Till and Yassah `Abd Al Masih, The Gospel According to Thomas (E. J. Brill and Harper & Brothers, 1959). In 1977, James M. Robinson edited the first complete collection of English translations of the Nag Hammadi texts.Robinson, James M., General Editor, The Nag Hammadi Library in English, Revised Edition 1988, E.J. Brill, Leiden, and Harper and Row, San Francisco, ISBN 90-04-08856-3. The Gospel of Thomas has been translated and annotated worldwide in many languages. The original Coptic manuscript is now the property of the Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Department of Manuscripts.Coptic Gnostic Papyri in the Coptic Museum at Old Cairo, vol. I (Cairo, 1956) plates 80, line 10 – 99, line 28. Oxyrhynchus papyri fragments After the Coptic version of the complete text was discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, scholars soon realized that three different Greek text fragments previously found at Oxyrhynchus, also in Egypt, were part of the Gospel of Thomas.Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt, Sayings of Our Lord from an early Greek Papyrus (Egypt Exploration Fund; 1897)Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman, The Secret Sayings of Jesus according to the Gospel of Thomas (Fontana Books, 1960). These three papyrus fragments of Thomas date to between 130 - 250. Prior to the Nag Hammadi library discovery, the sayings of Jesus found in Oxyrhynchus were known simply as Logia Iesu. The corresponding Koine Greek fragments of the Gospel of Thomas, found in Oxyrhynchus are: *P. Oxy. 1 : fragments of logia 26 through 33, with the last two sentences of logion 77 in the Coptic version included at the end of logion 30 herein. *P. Oxy. 654 : fragments of the beginning through logion 7, logion 24 and logion 36 on the flip side of a papyrus containing surveying data. *P. Oxy. 655: fragments of logia 36 through 39. 8 fragments designated a'' through ''h, whereof f'' and ''h have since been lost. The wording of the Coptic sometimes differs markedly from the earlier Greek Oxyrhynchus texts, the extreme case being that the last portion of logion 30 in the Greek is found at the end of logion 77 in the Coptic. This fact, along with the quite different wording Hippolytus uses when apparently quoting it (see below), suggests that the Gospel of Thomas "may have circulated in more than one form and passed through several stages of redaction."John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew (New York, 1990) p. 125. Although it is still generally assumed that the "Gospel of Thomas" was first composed in Greek, there is growing evidence that the Coptic Nag Hammadi text is a translation from Syriac. On comparing the Greek fragments from Oxyrhynchus with the fuller Coptic version, Nicholas Perrin argues that the differences can be attributed to the reliance of both on a common Syriac source.Nicholas Perrin, HC II,2 and the Oxyrhynchus Fragments (P.Oxy 1, 654, 655): Overlooked Evidence for a Syriac "Gospel of Thomas", Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 58, No. 2 (May, 2004), pp. 138-151 Attestation The earliest surviving written references to the Gospel of Thomas are found in the writings of Hippolytus of Rome (c. 222-235) and Origen of Alexandria (c. 233).Koester 1990, pp.77ff Hippolytus wrote in his Refutation of All Heresies 5.7.20: This appears to be a reference to saying 4 of Thomas, although the wording differs significantly. Origen listed the "Gospel according to Thomas" as being among the heterodox apocryphal gospels known to him (Hom. in Luc. 1). In the 4th and 5th centuries, various Church Fathers wrote that the Gospel of Thomas was highly valued by Mani. In the 4th century, Cyril of Jerusalem mentioned a "Gospel of Thomas" twice in his Catechesis: "The Manichæans also wrote a Gospel according to Thomas, which being tinctured with the fragrance of the evangelic title corrupts the souls of the simple sort."Cyril Catechesis 4.36 and "Let none read the Gospel according to Thomas: for it is the work not of one of the twelve Apostles, but of one of the three wicked disciples of Manes."Cyril Catechesis 6.31 The 5th century Decretum Gelasianum includes "A Gospel attributed to Thomas which the Manichaean use" in its list of heretical books.Koester 1990 p. 78 Date of composition Richard Valantasis writes: Valantasis and other scholars argue that it is difficult to date Thomas because, as a collection of logia without a narrative framework, individual sayings could have been added to it gradually over time.Patterson, Robinson, and Bethge (1998), p. 40 (However, Valantasis does date Thomas to 100-110 CE, with some of the material certainly coming from the first stratum which is dated to 30-60 CE.Valantasis, p. 20) The early camp Robert E. Van Voorst states: Scholars generally fall into one of two main camps: an "early camp" favoring a date for the "core" of between the years 50 and 100, before or approximately contemporary with the composition of the canonical gospels and a "late camp" favoring a date in the 2nd century, after composition of the canonical gospels.John P. Meier,A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, v. 1, p. 128. Form of the gospel Theissen and Merz argue the genre of a collection of sayings was one of the earliest forms in which material about Jesus was handed down. They assert that other collections of sayings, such as the Q document and the collection underlying Mark 4, were absorbed into larger narratives and no longer survive as independent documents, and that no later collections in this form survive. Meyer also asserts that the genre of a "sayings collection" is indicative of the 1st century, and that in particular the "use of parables without allegorical amplification" seems to antedate the canonical gospels. Maurice Casey has strongly questioned the argument from genre: the "logic of the argument requires that Q and the Gospel of Thomas be also dated at the same time as both the book of Proverbs and the Sayings of Amen-em-Opet!"Maurice Casey, An Aramaic Approach to Q p.33. Independence from Synoptic Gospels Stevan L. Davies argues that the apparent independence of the ordering of sayings in Thomas from that of their parallels in the synoptics shows that Thomas was most likely not reliant upon the canonical Gospels and probably predated them.Correlation Analysis A number of authors argue that when the logia in Thomas do have parallels in the synoptics the version in Thomas often seems closer to the source. Theissen and Merz give sayings 31 and 65 as examples of this. Koester agrees, citing especially the parables contained in sayings 8, 9, 57, 63, 64 and 65. In the few instances where the version in Thomas seems to be dependent on the Synoptics, Koester suggests, this may be due to the influence of the person who translated the text from Greek into Coptic. Koester also argues that the absence of narrative materials (such as those found in the canonical gospels) in Thomas makes it unlikely that the gospel is "an eclectic excerpt from the gospels of the New Testament". He also cites the absence of the eschatological sayings considered characteristic of Q to show the independence of Thomas from that source. Intertextuality with John's gospel Another argument for an early date is what some scholars have suggested is an interplay between the Gospel of John and the logia of Thomas. Parallels between the two have been taken to suggest that Thomas' logia preceded John's work, and that the latter was making a point-by-point riposte to Thomas, either in real or mock conflict. This seeming dialectic has been pointed out by several New Testament scholars, notably Gregory J. Riley,Resurrection Reconsidered: Thomas and John in Conflict (Augsberg Fortess, 1995) April DeConick,Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospel of John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature (T&T Clark, 2001) and Elaine Pagels.Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas. (New York: Vintage, 2004) Though differing in approach, they argue that several verses in the Gospel of John are best understood as responses to a Thomasine community and its beliefs. Pagels, for example, says that John's gospel makes two references to the inability of the world to recognize the divine light.Jn 1:5, 1:10 In contrast, several of Thomas' sayings refer to the light born 'within'.logia 24, 50, 61, 83 ("...Light that lights every man born into the world") acknowledges Thomas' idea of the Light within. John also follows Thomas by personifying the Light as Jesus.compare John 1:9 to logion 77 ("I am the way, the truth, and the life...) and chapter 17, which emphasizes salvation via the logos of Christ, expands on Thomas' logion 1. Intertextuality and acknowledgment of Thomas' priority seems to be in play. John's gospel is the only canonical one that gives Thomas the Apostle a dramatic role and spoken part, and Thomas is the only character therein described as having apistos (unbelief), despite the failings of virtually all the Johannine characters to live up to the author's standards of belief. With respect to the famous story of Doubting Thomas,(Jn. 20:26-29) it is suggested that John may have been denigrating or ridiculing a rival school of thought; however, this may be entirely tongue-in-cheek, as a sort of inside joke. In another apparent contrast, John's text matter-of-factly presents a bodily resurrection as if this is a sine qua non of the faith; in contrast, Thomas' insights about the spirit-and-body are more nuanced.(logia 29, 80, 87) For Thomas, resurrection seems more a cognitive event of spiritual attainment, one even involving a certain discipline or asceticism. Again, an apparently denigrating portrayal in the "Doubting Thomas" story may either be taken literally, or as a kind of mock "comeback" to Thomas' logia: not as an outright censuring of Thomas, but an improving gloss. After all, Thomas' thoughts about the spirit and body are really not so different from those which John has presented elsewhere.e.g. Jn. 3:6, 6:52-6 -- but pointedly contrasting these with 6:63 John portrays Thomas as physically touching the risen Jesus, inserting fingers and hands into his body, and ending with a shout. Pagels interprets this as signifying one-upmanship by John, who is forcing Thomas to acknowledge Jesus' bodily nature. She writes that "...he shows Thomas giving up his search for experiential truth – his 'unbelief' – to confess what John sees as the truth...".Pagels, Elaine. Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas. New York: Vintage, 2004. pp. 66-73 The point of these examples, as used by Riley and Pagels, is to support the argument that the text of Thomas must have existed and have gained a following at the time of the writing of John's Gospel, and that the importance of the Thomasine logia was great enough that John felt the necessity of weaving them into his own narrative. As the scholarly debate continues on the issue of possible John-Thomas interplay, Christopher Skinner more recently responded in part to Riley, DeConick, and Pagels with John and Thomas - Gospels in Conflict? (Wipf and Stock, Princeton Theological Monograph Series 115, 2009). Role of James Albert Hogeterp argues that the Gospel's saying 12, which attributes leadership of the community to James the Just rather than to Peter, agrees with the description of the early Jerusalem church by Paul in Galatians and may reflect a tradition predating AD 70. Meyer also lists "uncertainty about James the righteous, the brother of Jesus" as characteristic of a 1st century origin. Depiction of Peter and Matthew In saying 13, Peter and Matthew are depicted as unable to understand the true significance or identity of Jesus. Patterson argues that this can be interpreted as a criticism against the school of Christianity associated with the Gospel of Matthew, and that "this sort of rivalry seems more at home in the first century than later", when all the apostles had become revered figures.Patterson et al. (1998), p. 42 Parallel with Paul According to Meyer, Thomas's saying 17: "I shall give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard and no hand has touched, and what has not come into the human heart", is strikingly similar to what Paul wrote in (which was itself an allusion to ) The late camp The late camp dates Thomas some time after 100, generally in the mid-2nd century.Darrell L. Bock, "Response to John Dominic Crossan" in The Historical Jesus ed. James K. Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy. 148-149. "...for most scholars the Gospel of Thomas is seen as an early-second century text." (148-149).Darrell L. Bock, The Missing Gospels (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006).61; 63. "Most date the gospel to the second century and place its origin in Syria...Most scholars regard the book as an early second-century work."(61); "However, for most scholars, the bulk of it is later reflecting a second-century work."(63) They generally believe that although the text was composed around the mid-2nd century, it contains earlier sayings such as those originally found in the New Testament gospels of which Thomas was in some sense dependent in addition to inauthentic and possibly authentic independent sayings not found in any other extant text. Dependence on the New Testament Gospels A number of scholars have argued that the sayings in Thomas reflect conflations and harmonisations dependent on the canonical gospels. For example, saying 10 and 16 appear to contain a redacted harmonisation of and . In this case it has been suggested that the dependence is best explained by the author of Thomas making use of an earlier harmonised oral tradition based on Matthew and Luke.Klyne R. Snodgrass, "The Gospel of Thomas: A Secondary Gospel" in The Historical Jesus:Critical Concepts in Religious Studies. Volume 4: Lives of Jesus and Jesus outside the Bible. Ed. Craig A. Evans. 299Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman, The Secret Sayings of Jesus (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, 1960) 136-137. Dependency on Luke's gospel Another argument made for the late dating of Thomas is based upon the fact that Saying 5 in the original Greek (Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654) seems to follow the vocabulary used in the gospel according to Luke ( ), and not the vocabulary used in the gospel according to Mark ( ). According to this argument - which presupposes firstly the rectitude of the Two-Source Hypothesis (widely held amongst current New Testament scholars), in which the author of Luke is seen as having used the pre-existing gospel according to Mark plus a lost Q document to compose his gospel - if the author of Thomas did, as Saying 5 suggests - refer to a pre-existing gospel according to Luke, rather than Mark's vocabulary, then the gospel of Thomas must have been composed subsequent to both Mark and Luke (the latter of which is dated to between 60 AD - 90 AD). Another saying that employs similar vocabulary to that used in Luke rather than Mark is Saying 31 in the original Greek (Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1), where Luke 4:23's term dektos (acceptable) is employed rather than 's atimos (without honor). The word dektos (in all its cases and genders) is clearly typical of Luke, since it is only employed by him in the canonical gospels ; ; ). Thus, the argument runs, the Greek Thomas has clearly been at least influenced by Luke's characteristic vocabulary.For general discussion, see John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew, (New York, 1991) pp. 137; p.163-64 n. 133. See also Christopher Tuckett, "Thomas and the Synoptics," Novum Testamentum 30 (1988) 132-57, esp. p. 146. According to John P. Meier, c'' 1990, scholars predominately conclude that Thomas depends on or harmonizes the Synoptics.See summary in John P. Meier, ''A Marginal Jew (New York, 1991) p. 135-138, especially the footnotes. Syriac origin A number of scholars argue that Thomas is dependent on Syriac writings, including unique versions of the canonical gospels. They contend that many sayings of the Gospel of Thomas are more similar to Syriac translations of the canonical gospels than their record in the original Greek. Craig A. Evans states that saying 54 in Thomas, which speaks of the poor and the kingdom of heaven, is more similar to the Syriac version of Matthew 5:3 than the Greek version of that passage or the parallel in Luke 6:20.Evans, Craig A. Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2008. Klyne Snodgrass notes that saying 65-66 of Thomas containing the Parable of the Wicked Tenants appears to be dependent on the early harmonisation of Mark and Luke found in the old Syriac gospels. He concludes that, "Thomas, rather than representing the earliest form, has been shaped by this harmonizing tendency in Syria. If the Gospel of Thomas were the earliest, we would have to imagine that each of the evangelists or the traditions behind them expanded the parable in different directions and then that in the process of transmission the text was trimmed back to the form it has in the Syriac Gospels. It is much more likely that Thomas, which has a Syrian provenance, is dependent on the tradition of the canonical Gospels that has been abbreviated and harmonized by oral transmission."Klyne R. Snodgrass, "The Gospel of Thomas: A Secondary Gospel" in The Historical Jesus:Critical Concepts in Religious Studies. Volume 4: Lives of Jesus and Jesus outside the Bible. Ed. Craig A. Evans. 298 Nicholas Perrin argues that Thomas is dependent on the Diatessaron, which was composed shortly after 172 by Tatian in Syria.Nicholas Perrin, "Thomas: The Fifth Gospel?," Journal of The Evangelical Theological Society 49 (March 2006): 66-/80 Perrin explains the order of the sayings by attempting to demonstrate that almost all adjacent sayings are connected by Syriac catchwords, whereas in Coptic or Greek, catchwords have been found for only less than half of the pairs of adjacent sayings.Perrin, Nicholas. Thomas and Tatian: The Relationship Between the Gospel of Thomas and the Diatessaron (Academia Biblica, 5). Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003. Peter J. Williams analyzed Perrin's alleged Syriac catchwords and found them implausible. Williams, P.J., "Alleged Syriac Catchwords in the Gospel of Thomas" Vigiliae Christianae, Volume 63, Number 1, 2009, pp. 71-82(12) BRILL http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/vc/2009/00000063/00000001/art00004 Robert Shedinger wrote that since Perrin attempts to reconstruct an Old Syriac version of Thomas without first establishing Thomas' reliance on the Diatessaron, Perrin's logic seems circular.Robert F. Shedinger, "Thomas and Tatian: The Relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Diatessaron by Nicholas Perrin" Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 122, No. 2 (Summer, 2003), pp. 388 Lack of apocalyptic themes Bart Ehrman argues that the historical Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher, and that his apocalyptic beliefs are recorded in the earliest Christian documents: Mark and the authentic Pauline epistles. The earliest Christians believed Jesus would soon return, and their beliefs are echoed in the earliest Christian writings. The Gospel of Thomas proclaims that the Kingdom of God is already present for those who understand the secret message of Jesus , and lacks apocalyptic themes. Because of this, Ehrman argues, The Gospel of Thomas is likely composed by a Gnostic some time in the early 2nd century. The Gospel of Thomas and the New Testament Canon The harsh and widespread reaction to Marcion's canon, the first New Testament canon known to have been created, may demonstrate that, by 140, it had become widely accepted that other texts formed parts of the records of the life and ministry of Jesus. Although arguments about some potential New Testament books, such as the Shepherd of Hermas and Book of Revelation, continued well into the 4th century, four canonical gospels, attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were accepted among orthodox Christians at least as early as the mid-2nd century. Tatian's widely used Diatessaron, compiled between 160 and 175, utilized the four gospels without any consideration of others. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote in the late 2nd century that since there are four quarters of the earth ... it is fitting that the church should have four pillars ... the four Gospels (Against Heresies, 3.11.8), and then shortly thereafter made the first known quotation from a fourth gospel—the canonical version of the Gospel of John. The late 2nd-century Muratorian fragment also recognizes only the three synoptic gospels and John. Bible scholar Bruce Metzger wrote regarding the formation of the New Testament canon, "Although the fringes of the emerging canon remained unsettled for generations, a high degree of unanimity concerning the greater part of the New Testament was attained among the very diverse and scattered congregations of believers not only throughout the Mediterranean world, but also over an area extending from Britain to Mesopotamia."Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament:its origin, development and significance p.75 It should be noted that information about the historical Jesus himself was not a singular criterion for inclusion into the New Testament Canon. Not all of the books that ended up in the New Testament contain information about the historical Jesus nor teachings from the historical Jesus, as evidenced by the Epistles and the book of Revelation. The Gospel of Thomas may have been excluded from the canon of the New Testament because it was believed *not to have been written close to the time of Jesus *not to have been written by apostolic authority or was forged in Thomas' name *not to have been used by multiple churches over a wide geographic range *to be heretical or unorthodoxEhrman 2003 pp. 242-3 *not to have been useful or comprehensible *to be secret – or for adepts – as the first sentence of the gospel declares. The philosophy of the Gospel of Thomas In the Thomas gospel, Jesus is presented as a spiritual guide whose words (when properly understood) bring eternal life (Saying 1). Readers of these sayings are advised to continue seeking until they find what will enable them to become rulers of their own lives (Saying 2) and thus to know themselves (Saying 3) and their legacy of being the children of "the living Father" (Saying 3). These goals are presented in the image of "entering the Kingdom" by the methodology of insight that goes beyond duality. (Saying 22). The Gospel of Thomas shows little or no concern for orthodox religious concepts and doctrines. Scholars have traditionally understood the Gospel of Thomas as a Gnostic text because it was found amongst other gnostic texts, it was understood as being prone to a Gnostic interpretation by the early Church, and the emphasis on knowledge as the key to salvation, particularly in Saying 1. However this view has recently come under some criticism by suggesting that while it is possible to interpret the text in a way that aligns with Gnosticism there is nothing inherently Gnostic about the text itself. The Gospel of Thomas emphasizes direct and unmediated experience. In Thomas saying 108, Jesus says, "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become as I am; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to him." Furthermore, salvation is personal and found through spiritual (psychological) introspection. In Thomas saying 70, Jesus says, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not bring it forth, what you do not have within you will kill you." As such, this form of salvation is idiosyncratic and without literal explanation unless read from a psychological perspective related to Self vs. ego. In Thomas saying 3, Jesus says, In the other four gospels, Jesus is frequently called upon to explain the meanings of parables or the correct procedure for prayer. In Thomas saying 6, his disciples ask him, "Do you want us to fast? How should we pray? Should we give alms? What diet should we observe?" For reasons unknown, Jesus' answer is found in saying 14, wherein he advises against fasting, praying, and the giving of alms (all contrary to Christian practice of the time), although he does take a position similar to that in Mark 7: 18-19 and Matthew 15:11 that what goes into the mouth will not defile a person, but what comes out of the mouth will. This is just one example in Thomas in which the hearer's attention is directed away from objectified judgements of the world to knowing oneself in direct and straighforward manner, which is sometimes called being "as a child" or "a little one" through the unification of dualistic thinking and modes of objectification. (For example, Sayings 22 and 37) To portray the breaking down of the dualistic perspective Jesus uses the image of fire which consumes all. (See Sayings 10 and 82). The teaching of salvation (i.e., entering the Kingdom of Heaven) that is found in The Gospel of Thomas is neither that of "works" nor of "grace" as the dichotomy is found in the canonical gospels, but what might be called a third way, that of insight. The overriding concern of The Gospel of Thomas is to find the light within in order to be a light unto the world. (See for example, Sayings 24, 26) In contrast to the Gospel of John, where Jesus is likened to a (divine and beloved) Lord as in ruler, the Thomas gospel portrays Jesus as more the ubiquitous vehicle of spiritual inspiration and enlightenment, as in saying 77: In many other respects, the Thomas gospel offers terse yet familiar if not identical accounts of the sayings of Jesus as seen in the synoptic gospels.Ehrman 2003 p. 55 Elaine Pagels, in her book Beyond Belief, argues that the Thomas gospel at first fell victim to the needs of the early Christian community for solidarity in the face of persecution, then to the will of the Emperor Constantine, who at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, wanted an end to the sectarian squabbling and a universal Christian creed. She goes on to point out that in spite of it being left out of the Catholic canon, being banned and sentenced to burn, many of the mystical elements have proven to reappear perennially in the works of mystics like Jacob Boehme, Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross. She concludes that the Thomas gospel gives us a rare glimpse into the diversity of beliefs in the early Christian community, an alternative perspective to the Johannine gospel. The Gospel of Thomas and the Thomasine Milieu The question also arises as to various sects' usage of other works attributed to Thomas and their relation to this work. The Book of Thomas the Contender, also from Nag Hammadi, is foremost among these, but the extensive Acts of Thomas provides the mythological connections. The short and comparatively straightforward Apocalypse of Thomas has no immediate connection with our gospel, while the canonical Jude - if the name can be taken to refer to Judas Thomas Didymus - certainly attests to early intra-Christian conflict. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, shorn of its mythological connections, is difficult to connect specifically to our gospel, but the Acts of Thomas contains the Hymn of the Pearl whose content is reflected in the Psalms of Thomas found in Manichaean literature. These psalms, which otherwise reveal Mandaean connections, also contain material overlapping the Gospel of Thomas. Masing, Uku & Kaide Rätsep, Barlaam and Joasaphat: some problems connected with the story of “Barlaam & Joasaphat”, the Acts of Thomas, the Psalms of Thomas and the Gospel of Thomas, Communio Viatorum 4:1 (1961) 29-36. Importance and author The Gospel of Thomas is regarded by some scholars as one of the most important texts in understanding early Christianity outside the New Testament. It is one of the earliest accounts of the teaching of Jesus outside of the canonical gospels, according to a few scholars, and so is considered a valuable text.Funk 1993 p. 15 It is further unique in that the gospel is no more than a collection of Jesus' sayings and parables, and contains no narrative account of his life, which is something that all four canonical gospels include. No major Christian group accepts this gospel as canonical or authoritative. Nonetheless, it is an important work for scholars working on the Q document, which itself is thought to be a collection of sayings or teachings upon which Matthew and Luke are partly based. Although no copy of Q has ever been discovered, the fact that Thomas is similarly a 'sayings' Gospel is taken by some as indication that the early Christians did write collections of the sayings of Jesus, and thus they feel it renders the Q theory more credible.Ehrman 2003 pp.57-8 By the time of its discovery, most scholars did not consider Apostle Thomas the author of this document and the author remained unknown. J. Menard produced a summary of the academic consensus in the mid-1970s which stated that the gospel was likely a very late text written by a Gnostic author, thus having very little relevance to the study of the early development of Christianity. Scholarly views of Gnosticism and the Gospel of Thomas have since become more nuanced and diverse.April D. De Conick 2006 The original Gospel of Thomas in translation ISBN 0-567-04382-7 pages 2-3 Paterson Brown, for example, has argued forcefully that the three Coptic Gospels of Thomas, Philip and Truth are demonstrably not Gnostic writings, since all three explicitly affirm the basic reality and sanctity of incarnate life, which Gnosticism by definition considers illusory and evil: 'Are the Coptic Gospels Gnostic?'.Essay on the Ecumenical Coptic Project website, where the requisite Coptic font is available for download. In the 4th century Cyril of Jerusalem considered the author a disciple of Mani who was also called Thomas.Wilhelm Schneemelcher 2006 New Testament Apocrypha ISBN 0-664-22721-X page 111 Cyril stated: Bentley Layton 1989 Nag Hammadi codex II, 2-7: Gospel according to Thomas ISBN 90-04-08131-3 page 106 Many scholars consider the Gospel of Thomas to be a gnostic text, since it was found in a library among others, it contains Gnostic themes, and perhaps presupposes a Gnostic worldview.Ehrman 2003 pp.59ff Others reject this interpretation, because Thomas lacks the full-blown mythology of Gnosticism as described by Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 185), and because Gnostics frequently appropriated and used a large "range of scripture from Genesis to the Psalms to Homer, from the Synoptics to John to the letters of Paul."Davies, Stevan. "Thomas: The Fourth Synoptic Gospel", The Biblical Archaeologist 1983 The American Schools of Oriental Research. p. 6-8 The Gospel of Thomas and the historical Jesus Some modern scholars believe that the Gospel of Thomas was written independently of the canonical gospels, and therefore is a useful guide to historical Jesus research.Koester 1990 p. 84-6 Scholars may utilize one of a number of critical tools in biblical scholarship, the criterion of multiple attestation, to help build cases for historical reliability of the sayings of Jesus. By finding those sayings in the Gospel of Thomas that overlap with the Gospel of the Hebrews, Q, Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, and Paul, scholars feel such sayings represent "multiple attestations" and therefore are more likely to come from a historical Jesus than sayings that are only singly attested.Funk 1993 p. 16ff Comparison of The Gospel of Thomas to the New Testament The Gospel of Thomas does not refer to Jesus as "Christ" or "Lord," as the New Testament does, but does call him "Jesus," and "Son of Man," which are concurrent with the canonical Gospels. Koester 1990 pp. 86-7 The Gospel of Thomas also lacks any mention of Jesus' birth, baptism, miracles, travels, death, and resurrection.Ehrman 2003 pp. 55 However, over half of the sayings in Thomas are similar to sayings and parables found in the canonical gospels.Ehrman 2003 pp. 55ff The Gospel of Thomas does not list the canonical twelve apostles and it does not use either this expression or the terms "the twelve" or "the twelve disciples." It does mention James the Just, who is singled out ("No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being"); Simon Peter; Matthew; Thomas, who is taken aside and receives three points of revelation; Mary; and Salome. Although here Mary (presumably Mary Magdalene) and Salome are mentioned among the disciples, the canonical gospels and Acts make a distinction between an inner group of twelve male disciples, with varying lists of names, and a larger group of disciples, among which there may well have been women. Despite the favorable mention of James the Just, generally considered a "pro-circumcision" Christian, the Gospel of Thomas also dismisses circumcision: Compare Thomas 8 SV with NIV: Note that Thomas makes a distinction between large and small fish, whereas Matthew makes a distinction between good and bad fish. Furthermore, Thomas' version has only one fish remaining, whereas Matthew's version implies many good fish remaining. The manner in which each Gospel concludes the parable is instructive . Thomas' version invites the reader to draw their own conclusions as to the interpretation of the saying, whereas Matthew provides an explanation connecting the text to an apocalyptic end of the age . Another example is the parable of the lost sheep, which is paralleled by Matthew, Luke, John, and Thomas. This is the parable of the lost sheep in NIV This is the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15: 3-7 NIV This is the parable of the lost sheep in Thomas 107 SV This is the lost sheep discourse in John 10: 1-18 NIV Other parallels include * parallels Thomas 63. * parallels Thomas 32. * parallels Thomas 33. * parallels Thomas 39. * parallels Thomas 55 and 101 * b parallels Thomas 33a. * parallels Thomas 16. * parallels Thomas 5b. * parallels Thomas 14. * parallels Thomas 34. * parallels Thomas 100. Comparison of the major gospels The material in the Comparison ChartSee Chart is from the Gospel Parallels by B. H. Throckmorton, The five Gospels by R. W. Funk, The Gospel According to the Hebrews, by E. B. Nicholson & The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition by J. R. Edwards. See also * Five Trees * Tree of Life * Stigmata * Common Sayings Source * Oxyrhynchus Gospels Notes References * Davies, Stevan (1983). The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom. Seabury Press. ISBN081642456X * DeConick, April. Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and Its Growth (T&T Clark, 2005) * * Funk, Robert Walter and Roy W. Hoover, The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say? the Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus, Polebridge Press, 1993 * Guillaumont, Antoine Jean Baptiste, Henri-Charles Puech, G. Quispel, Walter Curt Till, and Yassah ˁAbd al-Masīh, eds. 1959. Evangelium nach Thomas. Leiden: E. J. Brill Standard edition of the Coptic text * * Layton, Bentley (1987). The Gnostic Scriptures. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-47843-7. * Layton, Bentley (1989). Nag Hammadi Codex II, 2 vols, E.J.Brill. The critical edition of the seven texts of Codex II, including the Gospel of Thomas. ISBN 90-04-08131-3 * Meyer, Marvin (2004). The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-065581-5. * Pagels, Elaine (2003). Beyond Belief : The Secret Gospel of Thomas (New York: Random House) * * Perrin, Nicholas. Thomas and Tatian: The Relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Diatessaron (Academia Biblica 5; Atlanta : Society of Biblical Literature; Leiden : Brill, 2002). * Perrin, Nicholas. Thomas: The Other Gospel (London, SPCK; Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox: 2007). * Robinson, James M. et al., The Nag Hammadi Library in English (4th rev. ed.; Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill, 1996) * * Snodgrass, Klyne R. "The Gospel of Thomas: A secondary Gospel," Second Century 7, 1989. pp. 19–30. * Tuckett, Christopher M. "Thomas and the Synoptics," Novum Testamentum 30 (1988) 132-57, esp. p. 146. * * The Facsimile Edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices: Codex II. E.J.Brill (1974) External links * The Gospel of Thomas. With hyperlinear translation linked to Crum's Coptic Dictionary and Plumley's Coptic Grammar. Ecumenical Coptic Project online edition, 1998 ff. *Gospel of Thomas Collection at The Gnosis Archive *Gospel of Thomas Homepage (Stevan Davies) *Gospel of Thomas at Early Christian Writings *Gospel of Thomas Collection Commentary and Essays by Hugh McGregor Ross *Michael Grondin's Coptic-English Interlinear Translation of the Gospel of Thomas *Why is the Gospel of Thomas not in the canon. Online essay by Simonas Kiela Thomas, Gospel of Thomas Thomas Category:Coptic literature af:Evangelie volgens Thomas ar:إنجيل توما bg:Евангелие от Тома ca:Evangeli de Tomàs cs:Tomášovo evangelium da:Thomasevangeliet de:Thomasevangelium el:Ευαγγέλιο του Θωμά es:Evangelio de Tomás eo:La evangelio de Tomaso fr:Évangile selon Thomas fy:Evangeelje fan Tomas ko:도마 복음서 id:Injil Tomas is:Tómasarguðspjall it:Vangelo di Tommaso he:הבשורה על פי תומאס la:Evangelium secundum Thomam lt:Tomo evangelija mk:Евангелие според Тома ml:തോമായുടെ സുവിശേഷം nl:Evangelie van Thomas (Nag Hammadi) ja:トマスによる福音書 no:Tomasevangeliet pl:Ewangelia Tomasza pt:Evangelho de Tomé ro:Evanghelia după Toma ru:Евангелие от Фомы simple:Gospel of Thomas sk:Tomášovo evanjelium sl:Evangelij po Tomažu sr:Јеванђеље по Томи sh:Evanđelje po Tomi fi:Tuomaan evankeliumi sv:Tomasevangeliet tr:Tomas İncili uk:Євангеліє від Томи zh:多馬福音